In the warm summertime waters of Lake Erie, cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, can proliferate out of control, creating algal blooms that produce toxins at a rate that can harm wildlife and human health.
In the warm summertime waters of Lake Erie, cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, can proliferate out of control, creating algal blooms that produce toxins at a rate that can harm wildlife and human health.
Now, University of Michigan researchers have identified the organism responsible for producing the toxins: a type of cyanobacteria called Dolichospermum.
Harmful algal blooms, or HABs, can be composed of different types of cyanobacteria, which can produce different types of toxins. Knowing which cyanobacteria produces which toxins can help scientists track and respond to harmful algal blooms.
A bloom in 2014 produced a toxin called microcystin, which threatened Toledo’s drinking water supply. In 2007, scientists first detected evidence of a potent toxin called saxitoxin in Lake Erie, but they weren’t sure which organism produced it. Saxitoxins, a group of closely related neurotoxins, are among the most potent natural toxins known.
Read More: University of Michigan
Image: Satellite image of Lake Erie. (Image credit: NOAA Great Lakes CoastWatch MODIS Satellite Image – July 6, 2020)
